The Father’s Lost and Found
Luke 15
Luke chapter 15 is an amazing chapter in the Bible. There are three different stories, each basically containing variations of three different characters who represent God the Father, the lost (or the outsiders), and the found (the insiders). Now there are some really good nuggets of truth we can learn from each of these characters. Some of us might relate more so to the characters that are in the insiders’ group, or the “long-time-been-found group,” and others of us might relate more so to the characters that are the outsiders- lost and then recently were sought out and found. We’re going to talk a little about these two different groups as it relates to us, but I believe the primary character in each of these stories is the one that represents God the Father. There are some very beautiful truths in this passage that Jesus is revealing to us concerning the nature of God- truths that will help us relate to Him better as our Father.
I know that there are perhaps some of us who didn’t have the best relationship with our earthly fathers, and because of our experiences, sometimes it is difficult to imagine the goodness of God as our Father. This morning may our Father, who is perfect in every way, lead and shape our minds as we seek to know Him and represent His character here on earth.
Before we get into the stories, Luke really sets the stage for us, explaining the reasoning behind Jesus giving these illustrations. Look at verses 1 and 2 of chapter 15.
In these 2 verses, we have a connection of the events in this chapter to the events that previously took place in chapter 14. In chapter 14, Jesus was eating at the home of a Pharisee. On a side note, I love how throughout the gospel books, we have recorded Jesus spending time with all varieties of people- the sick and the well, the poor and the rich, the religious and the non-religious, the formal and the informal, those within the country and those outside of the country, the insiders and the outsiders. You can’t say that Jesus just came for the “needy”- no, by His life and teaching He showed that everyone, from every walk of life, is in need of Him. And there at the Pharisee’s house, in chapter 14 amongst a group of “insiders,” He stressed to them the blessing available to those who would choose to reach out to the “outsiders.” Let’s read verses 12-14 of chapter 14… and then he stresses the same point of reaching out to the outsiders in another illustration in the verses that follow. (Luke 24:21, 23)
Now back to chapter 15- Jesus is doing exactly what He had just previously taught- He’s hanging out with the outsiders! Now you would think that since Jesus had just taught on this subject, that the insiders might at least understand somewhat the motivation behind His actions, but as verse 2 shows us- they are instead upset that Jesus is hanging out with the wrong crowd. And this is obviously a lesson he really wanted them, and wants us to understand. He tells three different stories to convey God’s character in how He relates to outsiders (the lost) and insiders (the found). This is a huge issue. You might think the world is currently really divided, whether over politics- democrats and republicans, or over economics- the rich and the poor, or over race and nationality- but according to God’s economy, His creation, His coming Kingdom- there is only one divide: the lost and the found. Every single person who has lived, is living, or will live- will fall into one of these two categories. Lost or found. Insider or outsider. And Jesus is going to tell us about God the Father, and how He relates to both these groups. Verse 3… (Luke 15:3-7)
Ok, here we have 1 sheep representing the lost group- the outsider, and 99 sheep representing the found group- the insiders, and the shepherd is God the Father. Now to be 100% accurate, although I said the world is split into 2 groups- the outsiders and the insiders- realistically speaking we all- every single person- start out as an outsider, alienated from a perfect God. For this reason, Jesus came to earth- to be a light unto the darkness, to seek out that which was lost, to find and restore mankind who has lived in a fallen state since the eviction from the garden of Eden. So, in one sense we really have in this story 100 sheep who were at one time all lost and separated from their shepherd. But Jesus describes the illustration through what the world looks like today, with some being found and others lost, yet the beauty of this story is found in the detail that Jesus mentions the shepherd going to look after even just 1 lost sheep. This is monumental! If a shepherd only loses 1 out of his 100 sheep, he is probably doing pretty well. That’s a really good batting average. It would be much easier to count the loss and focus on the remaining 99. I mean, there’s work involved in finding just one lost sheep. Most of us might not be too bothered by just 1 out of the 100 missing. But it bothers our Father, and should bother us as well. For He is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) So the shepherd, God the Father- goes out, on active search, working hard in order to bring back the sheep to safety, provision, and life. And what does He do when He finds the sheep- Scold it? Punish it? Yell at it? Leash it and drag it back? No, He wraps it up in His arms and gently lifts it to His shoulders to carry it- rejoicing! He celebrates it! And as verse 6 shows us- He continues to celebrate it even after He returns home.
Then Jesus tells another story, verse 8… (Luke 15:8-10) Again we have the same characters, 1 who is lost, others that are safe and sound, and the heart of God the Father is portrayed through the woman who searches. There are a few nuances that I’d like to point out that differentiate this story from the previous one. Notice the ratio, the percentage of the lost to found goes down. With the sheep we had 1 in 100 lost, but now the stakes are a little higher being that 1 out of 10 is lost. It could be that this is all the woman has saved up and that the one extra coin could make a big difference in her well-being when the time came for her to rely on this little nest egg. Or perhaps she was compelled more in the sense that it’s just plain annoying to lose something that you know you shouldn’t have lost.
For some reason, I’ve really struggled with this lately. Things keep disappearing. Some I find, others I don’t. My sunglasses will disappear for a time, sometimes my pocketknife, cell phone, and it’s just incredibly annoying. The item that currently has me the most frustrated, is my hairbrush. I know I don’t have a lot of hair to brush, but this hairbrush is one of those brushes with the hundreds of stiff little nylon bristles that feel so good massaging my scalp right out of the shower. I don’t travel with it, I don’t brush my hair outside of the bathroom, there’s no where it should be if it’s not either in my hand, or in the sink drawer. There’s no reason it should be missing! It’s not that it’s so valuable, I guess I could find another one like it at the store for a couple dollars, but it’s just really frustrating for something to be missing that was doesn’t have a good reason for being missing.
I also have a clip-on saxophone microphone that a friend gave me, that I keep in my saxophone case. Several weeks ago, I had a concert one evening, and as I was setting up, the part that clips the microphone to the saxophone could not be found anywhere in my saxophone case. I was in shock, I kept looking over and over in the small zippered pouch where I keep it, running my hands through it to make sure my eyes weren’t playing a trick on me- but it was not there. I ended up using a piece of tape to hold it onto my horn for the concert. When I came back to the church office, I found it lying on the floor. I rejoiced, thank you Lord! I was so glad to have found it. Now what’s crazy, is that I’m positive I immediately put it back where it was supposed to go in the case pocket, but last week I played another concert and I opened up the zippered pocket only to find that it was missing again! My mind was blown, I was so frustrated, and still am- I have no idea what happened to it.
That feeling of loss that is maddening and makes you sick to your stomach, that’s how God feels. It shouldn’t be that any of His created image bearers are lost and separated from Him. His heart aches over those who aren’t yet in His fold.
Jesus perhaps saved the best illustration for last, the story of the lost son. Verse 11… (Luke 15:11-32) Again, we have our three characters- the lost, the found, and God the Father. Our ratio of lost to found started at 1 out of 100, then moved to 1 out of 10, and now we have 1 out of 2 that are lost- and we’re no longing talking figuratively about sheep or coins, but the actual real deal issue itself- people.
And notice too that we have moved through different circumstances of lostness. First the sheep- it probably didn’t have the intention of wandering off. It just was enjoying eating the grass, and slowly it moved from one tuff of grass to another, just concerned with the present- focused on what lay before it’s eyes, not ever lifting its head to notice how far it had strayed from the Shepherd, and eventually it would wind up stranded on a cliff or in a barren wasteland. People are at times the same, not intentionally ignoring God the Shepherd, but chasing after their own appetites, moving from one material good to another, focused on just the present, step by step distancing themselves from the One who wants to protect them.
There are others who are lost like the coin. The coin, perhaps due to the forces of gravity, perhaps found itself sinking through a crack in the floor. It was overcome by an external force, not able to resist the power of gravity when it was shaken from the purse. We are perhaps all shaken in ways in this world, and opportunities to submit to pressures of circumstance and to be moved by external forces to fall away from God abound in great number.
Others are lost like this younger son. For whatever reason, they are angry at God. They don’t want His rule in their life. They want to be their own king. The pleasures of the world seem to be more valuable than dwelling in the presence of the Father. This younger son, so very well contrasts Jesus’ most recent teaching on surrendering and forsaking all to be a disciple. He didn’t value his relationship with his Father above other relationships (prostitutes), possessions, or his own selfish desires. He basically said to his father “I can’t wait until you are dead to receive my inheritance, so I want you to give it to me now and I’ll leave and just pretend you are dead.” This was one of the ugliest of ugly insults and curses the son could have said to his father. According to Mosaic law, this father would have been required to put his son to death for such an act. Exodus 21:17 says “He who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.” It’s amazing the father doesn’t punish his son nor does he even resist him, but he gives him his request- even knowing the possible negative outcome.
Life apart from the Father might be enjoyed for a time, but inevitably all who live apart from Him will be found wanting. In this life, or in the life to come all will eventually regret having distance between themselves and their creator. Surely it is God’s desire for these to come to their senses in this life, before it is too late in the coming eternal life.
As with the other 2 stories, God is portrayed as one who is active and moving. In verse 20 we see the father coming out to the boy while he is yet still a far distance away. And here is another moment when the father could have been stern, reprimanding, punishing, yelling- but no, He knows his son is truly repentant and rejoices in and celebrates His repentance and return. The father gives a robe that would cause his son to have more likeness of his father, he gives him a ring that would indicate his belonging to the father and authority in him, and he gives sandals to protect his feet in the work of his father’s business.
But the primary character here is not the lost son. The primary character in each of these stories is the character representing the Father. And we are to learn from how the Father relates to the lost and the found. Remember again who Jesus is speaking to through these illustrations- He is responding to the criticism of the insiders- those who proclaimed to be of the “found group,” and again their problem was that Jesus was hanging out with the outsiders- those that were considered to be of the “lost group.” One of His primary objectives is to stir compassion into the hearts of the insiders by conveying to them the compassion, searching nature, and love of the main character- God the Father. And all three stories reflect this objective. But this last story throws in a twist. We see the heart of God for the lost in all three, but in this third story we are also taught on the heart of God for the found, or actually those who might consider themselves found, yet who are by their actions displaying that they are still distant from God their Shepherd. Distant from God the Searcher who lights up and sweeps up the house. Distant from God the Father.
The already “found” character in this last story- the older son, more adequately displays the character of the religious leaders- the “insiders” with whom He was talking to. This older son conveys the circumstance of the religious leaders better than the 99 sheep and the 9 coins could convey. Notice in verse 28 the anger and resentment of the older son- it embodies the feeling of the religious leaders. And how does the Father treat the son? Does the Father just ignore the son and let him sulk in his own misery? No, verse 28 says he “came out” to him. You see, it’s not just the lost the Father seeks out- it’s the found too. And when He engages with the son does He say: “Stop acting like a baby and get in here, you’re ruining the party for the whole family!”? No, the same verse 28 tells us he “began pleading” with him. Reasoning with him, begging him to see things differently and to join in the fun.
How tender, loving, forgiving, wise, and patient the Father is to both groups of people- the insiders and the outsiders. And here at the end of the story Jesus has another lesson for the two groups. In verse 29 we learn it wasn’t just the younger son who had a problem in His relationship with the father. Here the older son expresses his misguided understanding of his relationship with his father. He says: “I have been serving you and have never neglected a command of yours.” That sounds like something you would more likely say to your boss or sergeant, not to your Father. You see, the son missed it. He had somehow turned his father/son relationship into a slave/master relationship. Yes, we want to be servants of God, but we cannot miss the fact that we are also His sons and daughters and heirs in Christ. This is how He loves us- as His children! Not as His slaves. And this is how the Father answers him in verse 31 “Son, you have always been with me”- it’s the relationship I value and want you to value, I want to be with you and want you to want to be with me. “And all that is mine is yours.” You have been too focused on trying to get it all right that you have missed My very presence, and missed the fact that I have more goodness that also can belong to you!
The father could have easily just commanded his older son to stop sulking and to go in and at least pretend to enjoy the party. He had the authority and right to do that. But again, he just pleaded, kindly engaging in conversation, inviting, wooing. Why? Because He’s not just after external performance. He wants to be in a right relationship, in a new, fixed relationship with His children. Don’t stay out partying on your own like the younger son, come to your Father who loves you. Don’t stay out clinging to your servanthood and stiff righteousness like the older son- come to your Father who loves you. You will be unhappy apart from the Father whether you are living in sin, or living according to self-righteousness. If you do good or bad, you will miss out if you are not in a right relationship with your Heavenly Father. And that right relationship is only possible through Jesus.
And the story ends on a bit of a cliff hanger. Does the son come into the party? …Or does He become estranged from the father? Jesus left the story open ended- the ending was up to His intended audience, the religious insiders. What were they going to do? Continue to resent Jesus and His work amongst the outsiders? Continue to cling to the idea that they were good enough and didn’t need forgiveness? Continue to refuse a relationship with God through Jesus? Or would they surrender to His kingship, melt in His love for them, and take their seat with all the other children of God at His great feast? They were given a choice, and so are we. Let’s pray. Small group discussion: Here’s a question I stumbled upon from another pastor- When you watch sin happen- ugly, serious sin- do you feel mainly disgust, or mainly compassion? After looking at Luke 15 together, what do you think should be our biblical response to such sin?